A Star
by MusicRocks807
Summary: "But that's my point, Starfire. You're not a Troq. If anything, you're the opposite of one." "A Troq has no opposite, Robin." "Sure it does. It's called a Star." Starfire still feels down after the Val-Yor incident. Luckily, Robin is there to cheer her up. Set almost directly after 'Troq'.


**Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans.**

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Robin sat back in his chair, blinking the scratchy feeling from his eyes. Staring at files for three hours really wasn't a smart idea. He had been studying various reports on Val-Yor and the Locrix, hoping to ease his conscious and confirm that they had made the correct choice. He knew it was a case of too little too late, but he had to know whether the Locrix really were as bad as Val-Yor said. Luckily, he discovered that they were, and it wasn't just Val-Yor's prejudice that wasn't in their favour. There were reports from all over the galaxy of vicious attacks; from what he had read, everyone was grateful to Val-Yor and the Titans for stopping them.

The boy wonder stretched, savouring the pleasure that screamed from his tight muscles at the sensation, and pushed himself up out of the chair. One gloved hand combed through gelled-up black hair, fixing the dishevelled look it had acquired. He rubbed his eyes through his mask, moaning under his breath. Everything ached, and he could have sworn his body was made of lead. Did he always feel like this after long investigation sessions? He didn't think so, but whatever; he hadn't done this much researching since they last saw Slade.

A knock came from his door, followed by Raven's voice. "Uhm... Robin? Could use a little help here."

His eyes widened. Raven never asked for help. In seconds, he'd slid the door open and joined the anxious empath in the hall. "What's the problem?"

"It's... Starfire," she began cautiously, knowing his tendency to-

"Starfire? What's wrong? Is she okay?"

-overreact when it came to matters involving the alien.

"There's not been an attack or anything," Raven assured him, "it's just... I think I heard crying from her room, and I sensed a lot of sadness. I was going to knock and say something, but... I'm not the best with... feelings." She blushed. "So, I figured I'd come get you, since... you know... she..."

Robin nodded. "I get it. Thanks, Raven."

"No problem," she replied, before pulling her hood up and hurrying off to her room.

Robin watched her go, making a mental note to keep an eye on her, as something seemed to be the matter. He then headed towards Starfire's room, nervousness budding in his chest. He wasn't quite sure what was the matter with the alien girl, although he figured he probably had a pretty decent guess.

He sighed as he approached; Raven had not misheard the crying. Tentatively, he knocked on her door. "Star? You, uh, okay in there?"

The Tamaranean could be heard blowing her nose and shuffling the sheets on her bed, before shakily calling out, "Y-Yes, friend Robin. I am... the okay."

"I don't believe you," Robin informed her, pressing himself against the door. "Come on out, Star."

"I... I do not wish to."

"Please, Starfire," he begged kindly. "I know something's the matter, and I want to help you. I... I care about you, Star, and I can't just walk away knowing that you're crying in there."

He heard Starfire's feet shuffling across the carpet, another sure sign she was upset; Starfire only walked when she didn't feel 'glorious'. The door cracked open a tiny bit, revealing a puffy-eyed Starfire. "Do not do the worrying, friend Robin. I am... the right of all."

Robin held his arms out wide. "No, you're not."

She hesitated but a moment, before flinging herself into his arms and sobbing into his shoulder profusely. He wasn't sure how long they stood there, tightly embracing each-other, but he did remember shooing Cyborg and Beast Boy away, and silently reassuring Raven that he had things under control. Starfire, somehow, was oblivious to this all. Her head was still tucked between Robin's shoulder and neck, but she had thankfully ceased crying, and was now sniffling lightly and shivering. Smiling warmly, Robin led her into the room and sat her down on her bed, tactfully ignoring the tissues scattered about the room.

"I... I am sorry, friend Robin." Starfire rubbed her wet eyes with her fists. "I did not have the control of myself."

"It's okay, Star," Robin assured her, sitting beside her and slinging an arm around her shoulders. "I just... Would you mind telling me what got you so upset?"

"I-It was..." Choking back more tears, Starfire's head flopped onto Robin's arm limply.

"Uhm... Did something happen to Silkie?" guessed Robin. She shook her head, so he tried again, "Did one of your dishes go wrong? Have you hurt yourself?"

"No, Robin." Starfire pressed closer. "Somebody else has done the hurting of me."

"Who?" he demanded. "Who hurt you? I'll teach them a thing or two, I swear-"

"We have already attempted the teaching of him, friend Robin, and it did not work. He has not changed his ways, and though I understand this, it does not lessen the impact of his words."

"His words... Is this about Val-Yor?" He took her strangled cry as a 'yes'. "Starfire, forget about him. His words meant nothing."

"No, Robin, his words meant that _I_ am the nothing."

"Star, c'mon, that's… that's ridiculous." Robin combed a hand through her tangled hair.

"He called me Troq, Robin. Troq is a slur for 'nothing'. If I am a Troq, then I am nothing." She sounded so heartbroken.

"But that's my point, Starfire. You're not a Troq. If anything, you're the opposite of one."

"A Troq has no opposite, Robin."

"Sure it does. It's called a Star."

She let out a choked cry, though he presumed this one to be of happiness as she flung her arms around him tightly. Air left his lungs and he was pretty sure his ribcage had folded inwards, but as Starfire levitated them both upwards accidentally with unbridled joy, Robin couldn't have cared less.

When she could finally contain her delight enough to lower them back to the ground, Starfire smiled brightly while she waited for Robin to catch his breath, before saying, "Thank you, friend Robin."

He patted her on the shoulder, his Batman-induced awkwardness about feelings returning in full. "It's… no trouble. Don't worry about it, Star. No trouble at all."

She enveloped him in another caring hug, this one a lot more restrained than the previous. This meant that Robin could move enough to return it, and breathe in her scent as he lay his head against her much higher shoulder. Her head resting on his own, they stayed there for a while, comfortable. Cyborg and Beast Boy both returned and were shooed away again; Raven sensed the contentedness radiating from the duo and kept her distance.

Once their second hug had lived out its course, they pulled away properly. Robin's hands clumsily reached for the collar of his shirt and began adjusting it, while Starfire just stood there, beaming unabashedly at him. Her green eyes were bright again, and she was hovering a few inches off the floor.

"I am very grateful for your kind words, Robin," she informed him.

His lips quirked. "Anything to erase Val-Yor's harmful ones from your mind."

"Do not do the worrying; you have more than accomplished that."

"Good."

Robin shuffled his feet gracelessly. "So, I guess I should get back to-"

Starfire leaned in and kissed him briefly on the cheek. He floundered like a fish out of water for a moment, before managing to make eye contact, his face bright red. She placed a hand on his arm. "I understand that the contact of lips holds more meaning on Earth than on Tamaran?"

"U-uh… Y-yeah, it-" Robin swallowed nervously, opting to just nod his head.

The alien girl giggled at his blush. "Then I hope that this gesture has sufficed in displaying my gratitude and appreciation."

He nodded again, his throat feeling thick and cottony. He didn't trust himself to speak past the lump in his throat, so he raised his hand in a half-wave to bid her goodnight. She grinned and waved back, before floating into her room again.

Robin walked back to his office with a cursed hint of a spring in his step, knowing full well that he hadn't put everything back after the interruption. But nevertheless, he felt accomplished. He had handled Starfire's emotional problems alone, he had survived a somewhat intimate moment with her… Now if he could just get his face to stop burning, he could truly call it a successful night.

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 **Sorry that this was so short, but it's my first real shot at RobStar and I didn't want to force anything in and drag out the narrative too much. Honestly, there was a gap of about two months between the first and second half of this, so I think I had more of a plan and didn't note it down, meaning we have this. Ta-da.**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading, and please review :)**


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